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FAR-FIELD AERODYNAMICS OF TUBEFLIGHT PROPULSION

Tubeflight is a high-speed tube transport scheme in which the vehicle derives its propulsion from the fore-to-aft transfer of air within the tube. The power required for tubeflight propulsion depends not only on the gas dynamics of the transfer flow but also on the amplitude of the disturbances that are generated by the vehicle in the far field, and these in turn depend on the energy conversion efficiency of the propulsion mechanism. A method is developed for the coupling and solution of the equations governing the flow field for the case of a tubeflight vehicle in steady motion in a very long tube. The method produces useful information on the interrelationships between the speed of travel, the drag of the vehicle, the amplitude of the flow disturbances in the far field, the energy conversion efficiency of the thrust generator, and the power demands. (Author)